Sendero Midstream, a privately held company owned by Energy Capital Partners, opened its new Permian Basin Gas Plant, 12 miles southeast of Carlsbad, near Loving, New Mexico. The company announced plans to invest an additional $750 million in the region to support increased oil and natural gas production from the flourishing Permian Basin.

According to company officials, Sendero plans to make the investments over the next five years, expanding the gas gathering and processing system with four additional plants, including pipelines and compressing systems to handle in excess of 1 billion cubic feet per day of produced natural gas. The expansion and investments are expected to create 150 contract employees per year over the next five years of construction with approximately 70 permanent, full-time employees expected to be in place by 2022.

"The Permian's Delaware Basin is one of the most prolific areas for oil and natural gas production in the entire world, and Sendero's investments are a recognition of the significant needs for midstream services in a rapidly developing basin," said Clay Bretches, Sendero Midstream President & CEO. "Our initial gas processing plant and future plans show that the future of Southeast New Mexico and the Permian Basin is very bright."

Governor Susana Martinez, state and local elected officials and community leaders joined Sendero Midstream and other industry representatives in celebrating the opening of Sendero's flagship New Mexico gas processing system. Comprised of more than 60 miles of pipeline, the system boasts a gas processing plant with a capacity of 130 million cubic feet of gas per day and 37,000 horsepower of gas compression.

Sendero's state of the art gas systems are not only providing critical capacity in the region for natural gas, but will help minimize emissions of methane and flaring of natural gas. Each facility is planned to meet, and often exceeds, statutes and regulations using industry best practices to protect the environment and community. The company engages in quarterly third-party testing to verify and maintain minimal methane and volatile organic compound emissions, and maintains a safety record that is significantly better than the industry average for incidents for both full time and contracted employees.

"We are committed to being good neighbors and we're planning to be partners with the Carlsbad and Loving communities for the long-term," said Bretches. "All of our employees are based right here in Southeast New Mexico because we've made it a priority to hire local employees, and when possible, utilize local contractors and vendors."

Sendero is actively working with the New Mexico State Land Office and lessee tenants to improve land management through implementation of best practices, while the company continues to work on Industrial Revenue Bonds for the second gas processing plant in partnership with the Carlsbad Department of Development and the Eddy County Commissioners.